#first response

[mtg-cards-hourly]

First Response

"There's never a good time for a disaster or an attack. That's why we're here." —Oren, militia captain

Artist: Slawomir Maniak TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[clonemedickix]

You remember that whole Umbara Arc, when Kix lost his cool and so desperately tried to pull his brothers to safety and render aid, even though it was hopeless and at risk of his own life? Everybody was present with him that day, given a little insight into his perspective. Or, who remembers the medic from Saving Private Ryan, who did the same in more graphic fashion, risking his life and losing it because it was better than watching others suffer?

I know how they felt. Not in the sense of my brothers and sisters are dying in a war, though we fight a different type or war. But in the perspective of watching the inevitable clutches of death take your patient, no matter how you fight, no matter the highly trained skills, no matter the expensive equipment and priceless experience brought to bear. Or when you realize that perhaps you’ve gone past the point of humane, trapping a soul in a broken body that can no longer support them. When no one listens to you, when you want to help but have your hands tied. When that ONE THING eludes you that could have helped. When you’ve moved so past the point of desperate that your team’s humor takes on a dark shape and you can only laugh to stave off the feelings of insanity at what you’re doing, how hopeless you feel, how much you’d like to leave and scream in a quiet place. When you feel invisible because everyone else has such tunnel vision they can no longer hear a voice of concern or reason.

It’s not because people don’t care. Rather, everyone cares so much that they really no longer know what to do. And so every team member walks away wondering if they did enough. Did they fail the patient? Did they miss the piece that could have fixed it all? Were they too afraid to speak up when that would have helped? Could they have saved that patient if only they’d done a little more, had some other idea, pushed that blood faster… anything. At the end of it all you’re left in silence, trying to recover and make sense of the storm. You’re left with ghosts, which will never leave you. Haunted by those you couldn’t save, who whisper to you in the quiet.

It’s not really even their voices you hear - it’s your self condemnation for not beating Death, for not being enough. Or at least, that’s what a good medic hears. The ones who care enough to let it drive you to save the next one. The ones who fight on in your memory, learn from the mistakes and the pain and the loss, who willingly carry your ghost with them for the rest of their lives and to the end of their usefulness.

I once had an experienced coworker from another specialty tell me, “You’re not normal. This unit is not normal. You should not walk among the dead like you’re in a war zone, and just go on to the next patient. How do you do this job?”

Because there’s always the next person you COULD save. Because life is worth fighting for. Because even after all the grief and failure and loss and heartbreak, somehow we stand up to try again. Because we have hope. Or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves when the call comes out for the next run. When we pull ourselves back together, shut our eyes to the devastation, and try again. This time we will win.

In the silence, I know what Kix felt, when Rex wrenched him from the line of fire. We can’t save them all, but by god will we try.

[thetf2spy]

SPY!! How are you?!! TELL ME!!!!!!!

"I am fine. Thank you."

"And why are you YELLING?"

[pomegranate-machinations]

hi i’m back from the dead. things i have done since vanishing:

finished the prologues of my queer post-apocalyptic zine series (first response- the betrayal; i’m worth it; bared teeth)

started a poetry zine series (meat + light; meat + light: mourning season)

made a couple fun diy/guide zines (adventurer’s guide to actions in combat; how to distress paper; a pocket guide to sigil making)

made some neat stickers and d&d spell scrolls (scrolls aren’t on the shop yet, let me cook)

began vending at local markets and made many wonderful friends and mutuals (hehe)

played in a ttrpg liveshow (i’ll be in another one next month, my instagram will have deets)

gained a niece (she just hit six months old)

so anyways. follow me on instagram or tiktok @pom.machine if you want shop updates and cute lil videos about what i do. check out my store so i can get a new printer. kiss ur dad square on the lips.

okay love you bye!

[entrn4me]

AAAAA I GOT ANSWERED 😭

Is Onyx just knocked out on the floor while this is all happening or..?

Probably

[inkskinned]

the tradwife movement is the same as it has always been - back in the kitchen, back to breeding - it just has better branding.

when i was younger, i hated pink. i was not like other girls. this is now something i'm embarrassed of - this was not me being a "girl's girl."

but it was expressing something many of us felt at the time: i literally wasn't what girlhood was supposed to be. this is a hard thing to explain, but you know when you're not performing girlhood correctly. it isn't as easy as "i liked x when girls liked y" - because there were other girls that liked x, too - but i never figured out exactly the correct way to like x, or to be interested in y.

now there is the divine feminine. this is the same rhetoric it has always been: women are biologically driven to like pink and ribbons and submitting to our husbands.

the problem is that the patriarchy found a better PR team. because yes, actually, i want every woman to have the choice to be a homemaker. i also want her taken seriously for her legitimate home-making labor. i want her to be recognized as also having a job, just unpaid. i want men to have this opportunity, too.

but it is no longer "i made this choice and I love it." instead it is a sixteen-paragraph rant about how selfish it is that my generation isn't having kids. instead it's long videos about how if you feed your children processed foods, you're going to kill them. instead it is "this is what womanhood is supposed to be. i feel bad for any other choices you're making."

the shame spiral is just prettier. it is large houses devoid of personality. it is the implication: if you don't have this, you aren't happy. the solid, everlasting assurance: women are actually supposed to be submitting. this is the default. this is the natural state of things. all other attempts inflict suffering.

but you can no longer say i'm not like other girls. you can no longer reject this image completely. you cannot find it revolting, even if you know that the underbelly is toxic and festering. sure, it is the same repackaged patriarchy. but the internet does not have shades of grey. you should support and reward other women! your disgust is actually internalized misogyny. not because you are seeing a vision of yourself the way they're trying to train you to be. not because you feel her ghost pass within an inch of your earlobe. not because your father will eventually ask you - why can't you be like her?

because they figured out how to make it beautiful: women will sell other women on this idea, and we will find the singular loophole in feminism. sure, she's shaming you in most of her videos. sure, she implies that a different life is obscene. but she just wants you to be happy! you'd be happier if you were listening!

and the whole time you're sitting there thinking: i'd actually just be happier if i had that kind of money.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

Of the 19 hijackers who carried out the Sept 11 attacks:

15 were from Saudi Arabia (a powerful/oil-rich country the U.S. works hard to maintain diplomatic relations with)

2 were from the United Arab Emirates (also a powerful/oil-rich country the U.S. works hard to maintain diplomatic relations with)

1 was from Egypt, 1 from Lebanon.

None of the hijackers were from Iraq.

None of the Sept 11 hijackers were Iraqi.

None of the 9/11 hijackers were from Iraq.

[yombleflobber-mobile-emporium]

Physical Trauma and Shock in Writing

Something that I think is interesting is the dichotomy of Story vs. Realism. The idea is, when you're writing with the assumption that your humanoid characters have the same basic anatomy and physiology of real-world humans, you have kind of a slider with regards to how that works out in your narrative. When writing ordinarily, much like in real life, you don't have to deal with the more technical aspects of body beyond what serves character development — most people are not terribly concerned about how long it takes to digest food, for instance, but if you make a character with gastrointestinal issues who is preoccupied with that, it might be helpful to keep a food log yourself and track how long that might take, and note what points that would be important.

Something that might happen more often in writing than in real life, however, is Physical Trauma. Maybe a character gets in a fight, and is grievously injured. Maybe they get shot. How you deal with scenes like this is going to depend on where your slider is. Maybe you have it all the way over in Story, and your character shrugs off bullets like raindrops. Maybe you have it all the way over in Realism, and your character takes one bullet graze and is constantly in excruciating pain. Maybe your slider is different for different characters (don't do this much; one of the most helpful pieces of writing advice I have been given is to be consistent — if readers smell an inconsistency, you better have a really good reason).

I recently wrote a scene that involved a character getting stabbed. Because of world-physics and reasons, I decided to put the slider fairly close to realism and, since I wanted my information to be factual and I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL I had to do some research. This is what I found.

First off, let's talk physiology. Physiology differs from anatomy in that it is more concerned with a conceptual, molecular explanation for how the body works. Think "The crystal structure of this type of steel" rather than "Sword shape"; it all still relates, but in different applications. Physiologically, any body wants to remain in a neutral state (for more information about this, check out Hank Green's Crash Course Series of YouTube Videos. I highly endorse, even though I do not particularly like Hank Green) known as Homeostasis (etymologically, this word means "Same State"). Homeostasis encompasses a wide variety of factors, including, but not limited to, Hydration levels, Saturation levels in your body's various fluids, and Temperature. Your body is constantly adjusting in response to changes and stressors, in order to maintain the optimal levels of everything for peak performance.

Now, because of The Fall, the body does not always react appropriately to stressors. For instance, when you are allergic to something, your body reacts as though the allergen is a pathogen, and may do so to the extent that you die. Sometimes your body is deficient in something, and is unable to return to homeostasis (like if you're diabetic and your pancreas is broken). Sometimes you don't have enough blood, and you enter a medical condition known as —

Shock

Often when we talk about shock, we're not referring to the medical term. If someone saw something "shocking" they might be "in shock" in the sense that they need another jolt in order to get their act together. That is not the same thing.

Let's shift to Anatomy for a second. You have nerves. A lot of them. Some pretty long ones. There are a lot of divisions and subdivisions, but the two main ones we need to talk about right now are Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous pathways. Again, check out the videos on these two systems. Simply put, the Parasympathetic Nervous System is in charge of general maintenance and growth, while the Sympathetic Nervous System engages when your body perceives it is in danger.

The PNS, as it is referred to because I don't want to write that out every time, is in charge of "Rest and Digest" which, as that implies, means it is primarily responsible for sending resources (blood) to your visceral organs in order to facilitate the accumulation of nutrients and general upkeep and chronic repairs.

The SNS, on the other hand, is in charge of "Fight or Flight", and sends resources (blood) to Brain, Heart, and Muscles so you can deal with acute trauma.

Now, if you see something crazy, or you hear something shocking, your SNS will most likely kick in, and your heart rate will skyrocket, your pupils will dilate, you'll hear the soundtrack from Doom playing in your head, etc.

What happens with shock, however, is that your body enters this state, as it were, half-cocked.

(If you were a diesel engine enthusiast, I believe this would be referred to as runaway. Except your body doesn't typically explode when it gets too hyper.)

(Usually.)

In any case, if you get stabbed, what are you supposed to do? Leave the knife in there (or whatever) as best as you can. Blood is your body's best method of transporting oxygen, and it just so happens to also transport platelets that facilitate clotting. Removing the knife is like removing a cork, and the less blood your body has, the less able you are to function properly.

You start going into hypovolemic shock (hypo=less, vol=volume, emic=presence of blood. Hypovolemic=less volume of blood) when you lose around 15-30% of your total blood volume. Shock is typically characterized by shivering, palor, clammy skin, weakness/fatigue, and rapid heart rate.

Shock treatment is different for different ailments. If it's heat-related shock, chances are you don't want to keep someone warmer. Loosen tight clothing to increase circulation. Elevate feet to encourage upper-body circulation. Don't move someone if not necessary. Call EMS and get help as soon as possible.

(They used to say not to let people go to sleep. They don't say that anymore; it really barely matters.)

One thing they do say, which I found initially perplexing, was that you should not give someone in shock food or liquids.

Which I thought was strange. Maybe you can see why from what I've already talked about. I'll walk you through my thought process.

Shock results from lack of blood volume/dehydration. Giving someone water might be good for fluid replacement. High-sugar foods could help raise blood sugars.

Everywhere I looked said, "Well, they could choke, or aspirate the water (and get fluid in their lungs and maybe get a bacterial infection)" to which I thought, "Well, if I'm really careful, and the person in shock was really lucid, I could probably get some food down with no issues. Maybe if it's mushed up or something."

Do you know the Number One reason why you don't feed someone in shock? I'm belaboring this point because even if you don't trust your abilities, or your gut, your gut may really mess you up here.

It's an Anatomy and Physiology issue. Blood Loss and your Sympathetic Nervous System. While in shock, your body does not digest food or fluids because your PNS is not engaged. While in [hypovolemic] shock, you have less blood available for your body to use. If you eat or drink while in shock, you put more unnecessary stress on your already super-stressed body, and demand more resources that aren't there, thus taking away the limited resources your body needs to keep itself alive.

And you might choke and die from eating a candy bar.

And you might get a bacterial infection, malinger and die from drinking some soda. Fun fact: the PNS (you know, the one that is not engaged) is responsible for fighting off infections, so any infections you accrue are going to have Compounding Interest by the time your body gets around to dealing with them — great for your bank account, horrible for your lungs.

I just wanted to really hammer that home. I have a highly competitive nature (hidden under the surface a bit), and telling me there's a mechanical solution to a problem engages that competitive side massively. If it isn't something I could possibly fix, I can focus on other things, like actually helping someone in shock instead of increasing their likelihood of dying.

If nothing else, you can look at it like a priority list. First you put your certainties, then your less-certainties, then your peripherals.

You will definitely slow your entire system down if you ingest food or imbibe water.

You might choke on large chunks of food.

You might aspirate water into your lungs and get pneumonia.

You could possibly screw up diagnostics when EMTs arrive.

Anyway. That has always bothered me. I'm a curious person, and I also consider myself fairly learned and careful. I don't think I'm the only one.

Oh yeah, usually EMTs won't just give people a saline drip, either. I always thought the blood volume was the biggest thing, but no. If you're trying to bring up volume, you start a blood transfusion (whole blood if available). Saline dilutes the blood and lessens clotting factors.

Anyway.

There's some of my research for you.

Again, I am not a medical professional. Do your own additional research. Get CPR certified.

[goldensunset]

feel free to elaborate in tags of course on how easy or hard cosplaying them would be

bonus question: how much do you WANT to look like your icon. like are they the goal you aspire to

[ruporas]

your love returns in tragedy (ID in alt)

[wasabi-gumdrop]

Kabru has a secret admirer in the castle!

[raebonnz]

happy lizzie week i mean lizzie week i mean lizzie week i mean lesbian week

[fantastic-nonsense]

society if Two-Face was Batman's arch-nemesis instead of the Joker:

[aheroonahistorybookpage]

Evan Buckley is not a dumbass. He has a wealth of knowledge about random topics he imparts when relevant, good at his job, and conscious of the feelings of those around him.

Eddie Diaz is not a dumbass. He is smart, capable, and at 23/24, he was in charge of 8-16 soldiers in a warzone.

Evan Buckley & Eddie Diaz at work are not dumbasses. They have worked like a well-oiled machine for almost a long as they've known each other.

Evan Buckley & Eddie Diaz looking after Christopher are not dumbasses. They are kind, loving, doting, and firm but fair.

Evan Buckley & Eddie Diaz hanging out with no responsibilities or deep trauma looming over their heads are a pair of dumbasses. That's just (boy) math.

[factual-fantasy]

@palettepainter (Comment was left on this post)

Awe!! Thank you!! :DDD Idk if canon Barnaby is much of a hugger, but my Barnaby sure is!

And most would say he does give the softest hugs.🥺🥺 Though Barnaby will usually only hug those who offer/or ask him for one. Because of this many people might not know that he likes hugs at al! :0

Also the marketable plushie comment just made me think of this XD 👇👇👇

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

None of our hands are clean

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